PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6238; text of measure as introduced: CR S6238)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 28, 2016
Crowdfunding Enhancement Act
This bill amends the Securities Act of 1933 to allow a crowdfunding issuer to sell shares through a crowdfunding vehicle.
(Crowdfunding is a method of capital formation in which groups of people pool money, typically composed of small individual contributions, and often via Internet platforms, either to invest in a company or to support an effort by others to accomplish a specific goal.)
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
A "crowdfunding vehicle" is a company that:
has purposes limited to acquiring, holding, and disposing securities issued by a single company in one or more transactions and made pursuant to crowdfunding exemption transaction requirements;
issues only one class of securities;
receives no compensation for such acquisition, holding, or disposition of securities;
is a co-issuer with the company whose securities it holds; and
meets specified requirements related to disclosure obligations and the use of investment advisers.
The bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the conditions upon which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shall exempt securities issued in crowdfunding transactions from SEC registration requirements.
Under current law, holders of crowdfunded shares do not count toward the shareholder threshold beyond which an issuer is required to register its securities with the SEC, provided that the issuer: (1) is current in its annual reporting obligations, (2) retains the services of a registered transfer agent, and (3) has less than $25 million in assets. The bill maintains this exemption but removes and replaces the conditions upon which it applies. Specifically, holders of crowdfunded shares shall not count toward the shareholder threshold if the issuer has: (1) a public float of less than $75 million, and (2) annual revenues of less than $50 million.
People & committees
Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] · R–MT
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6238; text of measure as introduced: CR S6238)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.3453 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.3453 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.3453 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.3453 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.